Wednesday, December 30, 2009

It's almost time to bid 2009 farewell and welcome 2010 into our lives. Looking back, 2009 is fun yet trying year for me. I have been to new places, met new wonderful friends, learned something new and at times, had to survive with just water and bread. :)

Running? Not that I have forgotten running as my passion. It was sort of taking a back seat behind my other passion, photography. I have been selective in my race events. Yeah! Me was hit by recession too. :) Instead of running in ALL the roadraces, I played photographer (and supporter for my running friends) in those races I have chosen not to participate.

I started putting YouTube videos of races (and other "cool" stuff too) beginning of the year. The response has been encouraging - the most viewed video at 14,100. But I am no Susan Boyle. LOL!

The most important yet heart-breaking video was unwittingly captured at Adidas King of the Road, Shah Alam. It was a 36 seconds video of a young runner, Gary Leon Robert who collapsed at the finish line.

The video was uploaded by a request from the family of Gary to look for missing Gary. It helped the search party to focus the search in the stadium since it was confirmed that Gary did pass the finished line and not missing along the route. Unfortunately, the video was probably the last moments Gary was seen alive. He was found dead the next day in the stadium. RIP. Full Story Here.

The BEST of 2009

These are my favourites photos from 2009. They may not be technically perfect but they perfectly captured the moments I went through. In those photographs, I was not just the photographer taking the shapshot from outside in but I was totally in the experience, well at least I tried.

From marathon partners to life partners. Played wedding photographer at fellow marathon runners - Narumol & Hajime in Bangkok. Attended a Thai wedding for first time. What an enriching experience! Full story here.

A Walk-umentary. Walked from Batu Caves, KL to Maran, Pahang with Lord Murugan devotees in an annual pilgrimage for Panguni Uthiram. Was carrying a milk pot and trying to shoot the procession at the same time. Thank God no milk was spilled in the process. :)Full story here.

Hot Clowns. A very uplifting shoot (pun intended) at Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Was aiming for the huge clown balloon in the sky. Then suddenly a real clown on stilts) came marching into the composition. :) Full story here.

Safe in the arms of love. I shot this golden baby (the adults are grey) silver leaf monkey at Bukit Melawati, Kuala Selangor. More of the series in my Flickr album.

Dogs Paradise. A three-legged dog posing for the camera at Noah's Ark Natural Animal Shelter. Surrounded my hundreds of warm, furry and fourlegged welcoming party can be quite overwhelming. One of the best experience money can't buy. Full story here.

A sulphur miner at Kawah Ijen, Indonesia. Miners carry a weight of 70-100kg of sulphur from the bottom of the crater up to the rim then down the mountain with a measly pay and without proper protections. It is one of the worst job I have seen in my entire life! I have yet to blog about this. Maybe next year. LOL!

Past and Present. I love the angle of this pic. It captured a present Dr. M and a past Dr. M (background) at a book signing. If I have a future Dr. M, then we can do a "A Christmas Carol, Malaysia Boleh version". Kidding! Full story here.

Eye On Sunset. Sunset at Melaka river mouth. Once bustling with trader junks and ships in its olden days, it is now busy with tourist boats. The round thingy in the background is the Eye On Malaysia ferris wheel. Full story here.

I Gotta Feeling...that tonight is a good good night! It was a good good night indeed. Got my priceless shot of the night - Will.i.am and Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas "making love" with on stage. Full Story Here.

Hornbill. Snapped this gorgeous hornbill at the Lotus Life Liberation Park (LLLP) in Bentong, a place where some of the rescued Pulau Ketam were re-homed. Full story here.

Magick River! Believed to be a spiritual river by the Temuan Orang Asli tribe. The best spot for a picnic by the river in Malaysia! Full Story Here.

Rainbow of Hope....A gift from the sky on my last evening in Rawang. I was about to leave the next morning after finishing my course in an academy there. So, I decided to take my camera and walked to Emerald West, a new housing area where I used to run. There is a running track around the lake in Emerald West and long private road, perfect for hill traning.

I was busy snapping away when suddenly I realised a huge rainbow in the sky. It sent me to a mad dash around the lakeside to find a good composition.

The rainbow only lasted about a minute which made it more precious. It was like a "farewell" gift to me. I felt so blessed.

OK. There you have it, twelve of my "best" photos for 2009. Many more to come in 2010, I'm sure.

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About Me

This is a virtual invitation for you to RUN WITH ME in most road races all over my beautiful country, MALAYSIA and also in oversea places that I have visited.... Don’t run in front of me, I do not want to chase you. Don’t run behind me, I don’t want to be pursued. Run beside me…and share my PASSION.

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